Single wall carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) and liquid-phase exfoliated multilayer graphene (MLG) material thin films were assembled at a polarizable organic/water interface. A simple, spontaneous route to functionalize/decorate the interfacial assembly of MLG and SWCNTs with noble metal nanoparticles, at the interface between two immiscible electrolyte solutions (ITIES), is reported. The formation of MLG- or SWCNT-based metal nanocomposites was confirmed using various microscopic (scanning electron, transmission electron, and atomic force microscopy) and several spectroscopic (energy dispersive x-ray and Raman spectroscopy) techniques. Increasing the interfacial deposition time of the metal nanoparticles on the assembled low-dimensional carbon material increased the amount of the metal particles/structures, resulting in greater coverage of the MLG or SWCNTs with metal nanoparticles. This low-cost and convenient solution chemistry based impregnation method can serve as a means to prepare nanoscale carbonaceous material-based metal nanocomposites for their potential exploitation as electro-active materials, e.g., new generation catalysts or electrode materials.

In the present study, we investigated the effects of different degree of sulfonation (DS) on the performance of the poly (vinyl butyral)/sulfonated polyethersulfone (PVB/SPES) blend membranes. The compatibility of the PVB/SPES blending system was characterized by shear viscosity and Fourier transform infrared attenuated total reflection, respectively. Results stated that all PVB/SPES blending systems were partially compatible. Contact angle, equilibrium water content, and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy measurements were carried out to investigate the hydrophilicity of the PVB/SPES blend membranes. With increasing DS, the blend membranes became more hydrophilic. The pure water flux of the blend membranes increased with DS, while the rejection decreased due to microstructures of the PVB/SPES membranes. The mechanical properties of the PVB/SPES blend membranes increased slightly with DS. Fouling resistances of blend membranes evaluated by bovine serum albumin solution filtration revealed the PVB/SPES blend membranes with DS = 27% exhibited the superior antifouling properties.

Adhesion between soft matter is a universal mechanical problem in bio-engineering and bio-integration. The Johnson–Kendall–Roberts (JKR) method is widely used to measure the work of adhesion and work of separation between soft materials. In this study, the JKR theory is recaptured and three complementary dimensionless parameters are summarized to help design adhesion measurement experiments compatible with the JKR theory. The work of adhesion/separation between two commonly used soft elastomers, polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS, Sylgard® 184) and Ecoflex® 0300, is measured by the JKR method using a dynamical mechanical analyzer. Effects of base polymer to curing agent mixing ratio and solvent extraction are examined. A unified adhesion mechanism is proposed to explain the different adhesion behaviors. It is concluded that chain–matrix interaction is the most effective adhesion mechanism compared with chain–chain or matrix–matrix interactions. Chain–chain interaction obstructs chain–matrix interaction as it either blocks or entangles with surface chains which could have interacted with the matrix.

A simple and efficient method for in situ preparation of highly stable polyimide (PI)-supported silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) was proposed. This process achieves excellent dispersion and high stability of AgNPs in the PI matrix. The formation of AgNPs in PI and the morphology evolution of PI/Ag nanocomposites were characterized by x-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), and x-ray photoelectron spectra studies. The catalytic properties of these PI-supported AgNPs were investigated by monitoring the reduction of 4-nitrophenol by excess NaBH4 in water. The catalytic reaction was observed to have a pseudo first-order rate constant of 0.567 min−1 (9.45 × 10−3 s−1), which is comparable to other heterogeneous silver catalysts reported in the literature. Notably, the PI-supported AgNPs retained their relatively high catalytic activity over seven recycles with almost no leaching of catalytic species in the reaction solution. Moreover, the catalytic activity of the catalyst is still quite appreciable even after a six-month shelf-storage under room temperature.

The development of synthetic scaffolds with a desirable combination of properties, such as bioactivity, the ability to locally deliver antibacterial agents and high osteogenic capacity, is a challenging but promising approach in bone tissue engineering. In this study, scaffolds of a borosilicate bioactive glass (composition: 6Na2O, 8K2O, 8MgO, 22CaO, 36B2O3, 18SiO2, 2P2O5; mol%) with controllable antibacterial activity were developed by doping the parent glass with varying amounts of Ag2O (0.05, 0.5, and 1.0 wt%). The addition of the Ag2O lowered the compressive strength and degradation of the bioactive glass scaffolds but it did not affect the formation of hydroxyapatite on the surface of the glass as determined by energy dispersive x-ray analysis, x-ray diffraction, and Fourier transform infrared analysis. The Ag2O-doped scaffolds showed a sustained release of Ag ions over more than 8 weeks in simulated body fluid and resistance against colonization by the bacterial strains Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus. In vitro cell culture showed better adhesion, proliferation, and alkaline phosphatase activity of murine osteoblastic MC3T3-E1 cells on the Ag2O-doped bioactive glass scaffolds than on the undoped scaffolds. The results indicate that these Ag-doped borosilicate bioactive glass scaffolds may have potential in repairing bone coupled with providing a lower risk of bacterial infection.

A flexible Fe2O3–SnO2–graphene (GNs) film material was synthesized based on a method of physical blending. The product is characterized by x-ray powder diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The results show that the Fe2O3–SnO2 particles are uniformly distributed among GN layers, and the film can be used as working electrode directly without any binder or conductor. The binder-free Fe2O3–SnO2–GNs film shows high charge capacity and good cycling life both in half and full cells. The Fe2O3–SnO2–GNs film delivers an initial discharge capacity of 946 mA h g−1 at 100 mA g−1 and maintains a capacity of 538 mA h g−1 after 90 cycles in half cell. For full cell, the film also exhibits a high capacity of 334 mA h g−1 at 100 mA g−1 after 30 cycles.

In this study, BaCu(B2O5) (BCB) is utilized as the sintering aids to decrease the sintering temperature of Ba3(Co0.4Zn0.6)2Fe24O41 [(Co0.4Zn0.6)2Z]. The influence of BCB addition on the microstructures as well as the dielectric and magnetic properties of the (Co0.4Zn0.6)2Z ceramic samples is investigated. It is found that the 5 wt% BCB added (Co0.4Zn0.6)2Z sintered at 925 °C exhibits both a high relative density of about 95% and a homogeneous microstructure with few pores existing. Both the relative permittivity and permeability of the sample keep stable from 10 to 800 MHz. Also, the dielectric and magnetic loss are low and effectively suppressed within a wide frequency range. For the specimen with 5 wt% BCB, the dielectric and magnetic loss tangent are 0.003 and 0.039 at 200 MHz, respectively. In addition, a compatibility test with Ag powders has been carried out. The optimized properties indicate that this kind of low temperature sintered Z-type hexaferrite is a good candidate for the applications of multilayer chip inductors.

M-type barium hexaferrite powders were synthesized using modified Pechini sol gel auto combustion method. The powder samples were heat treated at 900 °C for 5 h and were subjected to the structural, thermal, dielectric, magnetic, and optical studies. X-ray powder diffraction patterns show the formation of pure phase of M-type hexaferrite. Thermal analysis reveals that the weight loss of precursor becomes constant after 680 °C. The presence of two prominent peaks near 430 and 580 cm−1 in Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy spectra indicates the formation of M-type hexaferrites. The M–H curve has been used to study the magnetic behavior. The maximum value of coercivity is found for x = 0.41, which is higher than that of the pure barium hexaferrite. The band gap dependency on composition was studied using UV–Vis NIR spectroscopy. It was found that the dielectric constant is high at low frequency and decreases with an increase in frequency. Hexagonal structure of hexaferrite is visualized in transmission electron images.

We compared the enhancement of photoactivity of transition metal ion (1 mol% Fe, Cu, Mn, and Zn) doped CeO2 nanocatalysts, and examined the effects of oxygen vacancies and the valence of the doped ions. The nanocatalysts were synthesized using a coprecipitation method and were characterized by x-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, Brunauer–Emmett–Teller isotherm methods and Raman spectroscopy. The photocatalytic activities of these catalysts were tested using aqueous Rhodamine B (RhB) degradation under UV irradiation. The spherical CeO2 nanocatalysts had a mesoporous structure and ∼15 nm average particle size. The catalytic activity was closely related to the oxygen vacancies and the valence of the doped ions. An increase in oxygen vacancies of doped CeO2 decreased the photocatalytic activity. The photocatalytic activities of the catalysts decreased in the order: 1 mol% Fe > Cu > Mn > Zn > undoped CeO2. The 1 mol% Fe doped CeO2 degraded ∼92.6% of the RhB after 3 h of irradiation, and the degradation obeyed pseudo-first-order kinetics. Liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry indicated that the photodegradation of RhB was a stepwise oxidation process. Under continuous oxidation, over a long reaction time, the RhB was completely oxidized to its final products, such as water and carbon dioxide.

The nonisothermal crystallization kinetics, fragility, and thermodynamics of Ti20Zr20Cu20Ni20Be20 high entropy bulk metallic glass (HE-BMG) have been investigated by differential scanning calorimetry. The activation energies for the glass transition and crystallization events were determined by Kissinger and Ozawa methods. The value of local Avrami exponent is less than 1.5 in most cases for all the three crystallization events, indicating that the major crystallization mechanism is diffusion-controlled growth of pre-existing nuclei. The local activation energy is stable during the whole crystallization process and this further confirms that the crystallization occurs through a single mechanism. Ti20Zr20Cu20Ni20Be20 alloy can be classified into “strong glass formers” according to the estimated fragility index and also shows a relatively low value of Gibbs free energy difference. However, compared with Zr41.2Ti13.8Cu12.5Ni10Be22.5 BMG, the glass-forming ability of Ti20Zr20Cu20Ni20Be20 HE-BMG is much lower and the related reasons have been discussed.

In this study, scanning electron microscope, electron backscatter diffraction, and transmission electron microscope have been used to investigate the microstructure evolution of Cu–0.2Mg alloy during continuous extrusion in mass production. The continuous extrusion could change the size and orientation of as-cast crystallite grains of the alloy. Hardness increased gently in upsetting zone and dropped sharply in adhesion zone. Hardness reached the maximum value in right-angle bending zone; and it decreased rapidly in extending extrusion zone. Upsetting zone was mainly composed of cell blocks and microbands, and adhesion zone mainly consisted of discontinuous recrystallize grain. Shear band and subgrains were formed in right-angle bending zone due to polygonization during shear deformation. In extending extrusion zone and extrusion rod zone, recrystallize microstructures were predominant.

The texture and deformation microstructures of Ta–2.5W alloy were investigated during cold rolling process. The microhardness can reach 280 HV when the reduction was 40%. Meanwhile, the mature body-centered cubic rolling texture was developed. The dislocation configuration appeared in a sequence from long straight dislocations and dislocation loops, followed by dislocation tangles and finally to cells boundaries and long, continuous planar boundaries. Microbands did not appear until the reduction reached 20%. The density of microbands increased with increasing reduction. The dislocations within the boundaries of microbands tended to rearrange themselves with increasing strain in a sequence from tangled dislocations, followed by parallel dislocations and finally into dislocation nets. Meanwhile, the boundaries had at least one primary set of parallel dislocations lying along the longitudinal direction of the boundaries during the whole cold-rolled process. The formation of microbands based on the double cross-slip of long straight screw dislocations was confirmed.

A CoCrFeNiMn high-entropy alloy (HEA), in the form of a face-centered cubic (fcc) solid solution, was processed by high-pressure torsion (HPT) to produce a nanocrystalline (nc) HEA. Significant grain refinement was achieved from the very early stage of HPT through 1/4 turn and an nc structure with an average grain size of ∼40 nm was successfully attained after 2 turns. The feasibility of significant microstructural changes was attributed to the occurrence of accelerated atomic diffusivity under the torsional stress during HPT. Nanoindentation experiments showed that the hardness increased significantly in the nc HEA during HPT processing and this was associated with additional grain refinement. The estimated values of the strain-rate sensitivity were maintained reasonably constant from the as-cast condition to the nc alloy after HPT through 2 turns, thereby demonstrating a preservation of plasticity in the HEA. In addition, a calculation of the activation volume suggested that the grain boundaries play an important role in the plastic deformation of the nc HEA where the flow mechanism is consistent with other nc metals. Transmission electron microscopy showed that, unlike conventional fcc nc metals, the nc HEA exhibits excellent microstructural stability under severe stress conditions.

In this study, Aluminum-based nanocomposites with hybrid reinforcements were successfully prepared by mechanical alloying, followed by consolidation using selective laser melting (SLM). The evolution of particle morphology and microstructural features of the milled powders at various milling times was studied. The results indicated that the milled powder particles experienced a coarsening stage at the early 5 h milling and followed by a continuous refinement during 5–20 h milling. After 20 h of milling, the original coarse needle-like Al3.21Si0.47 evolved into nanometer/submicrometer-sized spherical Al3.21Si0.47. Meanwhile, both fine Al3.21Si0.47 and ex-situ nanoscale TiN particles distributed uniformly within the Al matrix. By SLM processing of the 20-h powder, a near fully dense part with a uniform microstructure consisting of circularly dispersed and submicrometer-sized reinforcement particles embedded in α-Al matrix was obtained. The Vickers hardness and coefficient of friction of the SLM-processed part reached 178 HV0.1 and 0.38, respectively.

Coal is an attractive fuel owing to its low price linked to its worldwide availability but combustion of coal generates very corrosive media especially near the superheater tubes. The present investigation is an attempt to evaluate the hot corrosion behavior of detonation-gun sprayed coatings of Cr3C2–NiCr, NiCrAlY + 0.4 wt% CeO2, and NiCoCrAlYTa on superfer 800H, exposed to low temperature super-heater zone of the coal-fired boiler. The specimens were hanged in the platen super-heater of coal-fired boiler where the gas temperature was around 900 °C ± 10 °C. Hot corrosion experiments were performed for 10 cycles, each cycle consisting of 100 h exposure followed by 1 h cooling at ambient temperature. All three coatings deposited on superfer 800H imparted better hot corrosion resistance than the bare uncoated one. The Cr3C2–NiCr coated superalloy performed better than the other two coatings in the given boiler environment.